EA has brought us another year of hockey, with NHL 23 being the latest installment of the series and another of their yearly releases. There have been some notable changes in this year’s title, with EA utilising the power of the current generation of consoles and moving to the Frostbite Engine after using the Ignite Engine for the past 7 titles.

EA have listened with this year’s title, adding in one of the biggest requested features, Cross-Play, which is accessible via the World of Chels game mode or the Ultimate Team game mode, which I will go into more detail about them both soon.

Hockey Ultimate Team has made a much-loved comeback to this year’s title, and the first thing you get to do is name your team. Once you have entered the Ultimate Team, you are put into the HUT Hub where you can see the challenges and news on new and upcoming things in the Ultimate Team game mode. You have the option to do single-player or play online with Ultimate Team to see how skilled you are, but sometimes it does not come down to skills, it comes down to the players you open in the packs you get, and these play a big part of Ultimate Team. The packs you open give you the cards to build your team, and you have the option to use the store to buy more packs. If you don’t want certain cards, you can throw them into the exchange and see what people are willing to offer, as some players play better with others; you want a good, structured team.

The World Of Chel game mode gives you something different from the base game. It gives the player the feeling that your character is your character, and you can express them how you want. It’s not based around the Stanley Cup, or even the NHL season like the main game modes. Its games are more fun and fast-paced, and you can do them on your own or join teams with your mates to have a little fun. There is a game mode in World of Chel that is 1v1v1, which is a small, 3-minute competition that takes the craziness out of the general games. There are other perks within the game mode, like duffel bags that can be opened to win some cool merch or other goodies.

The online section of this year’s title has a couple of the same options, such as Hockey Ultimate Team, and World of Chel. You also have access to Online Versus, which is a quick match where you can find someone online and find the full-length main game, which never works out for me, as all I want to do is drop my gloves. One of the other options you will find is Hut Rush.

Hut Rush is back for another year and is as fun as always. It takes the seriousness out of the sport and lets you jump into an outdoor rink and have some fun because scoring is not as simple as you might first think. These games can be modified, so they can all be different. You could run money pucks in one game and run the first goal to win in another, keeping them really short and sweet. I think one of the coolest things about Hut Rush is the playable mascots.

The last online game mode you have access to is NHL™ Threes Online, another fast-paced game mode, which, from the title, I’m sure you can see it’s three vs three, which turns into absolute chaos. With how fast-paced this game gets, you lose control of the puck or even when things are getting scored because I found people to be more aggressive in this game mode.

The controls are much the same as in previous years, and there is a lot to learn, but they’re simple enough to pick up. When you first load the game, it will ask you what your skill level is based around, how hard you want the AI to be, and then the controller configuration that suits you best. I chose the same as last year, utilising the buttons for most of the passing or shooting actions and the thumbsticks for all my movements.

I love how there is a wide variety of options with the control schemes in this game, which has been something EA has utilised over the past couple of years with their sporting titles, meeting whatever gaming skill the player has. For anyone coming into this game for the first time, I recommend putting everything to the easiest so that you can learn the basics in the controls, then boost them up to where you need them. One of the most notable new things control-wise is the ability to dive in front of the puck before it reaches the goalkeeper, which made me think I was Keanu Reeves in the Matrix. The goalies had different movements from previous years, with them making those last-minute saves with new animations.

EA utilising the Frostbite Engine has brought a new feel and look to this year’s title, with the ice actually looking like ice for the first time. You can see the reflections from various things around the ice rink, and small bits of crushed powder when you come to a stop quickly. The character models look the most realistic they have ever looked. I was blown away by how clean the menu’s UI looked whilst opening packs, and gliding around the menu, you could see the animations added gave the game that next-level feel.

There must be something in the air this year with the commentary and audio in all the sports games. The immersion you feel when the commentary box is calling the game, or when you throw your gloves on the ground and decide to punch on, it feels like you’re watching it on TV rather than playing a game. Sporting games have come a long way with the commentary, from feeling like it was pre-recorded to feeling like they’re actually watching you play and live commentating the game you’re playing. There is a satisfying crack when you hit the puck, or the crisp sounds of skates grinding that layer of ice. The game’s audio felt so immersive and made it feel like you were there watching it live. There are several different audio options when you first load the game, allowing you to choose the option that suits you best. From using a Surround Sound system to wearing your headphones, it’ll drag you into the correct immersion. Whilst you are scrolling the menus you get to hear a wide variety of music which gets you amped up to play the game.

If you are a new or returning player to the NHL series and want to see if you have what it takes to win the Stanley Cup, then I would recommend this to any sport-loving person, especially if you love getting pulled deep into a game. With the level of immersion, I would highly recommend this title.

Written by: Hayden Nelson